A man was fatally struck by multiple vehicles as he tried to cross eastbound lanes of Highway 118 in Simi Valley on Friday night, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Patrol officials received a report at at 9:34 p.m. of a person in the center divider of westbound lanes of the freeway west of Rocky Peak Road. The arriving officer saw the man and pulled up to the area at 9:51 p.m. with the patrol car's lights on. The officer gave instructions over a loudspeaker for the man to stay there, the patrol reported.

The man did not comply and instead hopped over the center divider to the eastbound side of the freeway, the agency reported. Again, the officer advised him to stay in the center divider but he "quickly walked' into the lanes, where he was struck by vehicles, the patrol reported in a news release.

The Ventura County Fire Department responded at 9:52 p.m., but crews reported the pedestrian had died.

A representative of the Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office was also called to the scene.

Patrol officials had yet to determine why the man, described as about 19 years old, was on the freeway, but they said they had not found any broken-down vehicles in the area.